Trump appoints Jay Bhattacharya, COVID herd immunity advocate, to lead National Institutes of Health

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya, a health economist known for opposing lockdowns and vaccine mandates, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration advocating for herd immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump announced that Bhattacharya will work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services. Their focus will be on addressing major health challenges in the U.S., including chronic illness and disease. Jim O’Neill, a former HHS official, has been appointed as deputy secretary. O’Neill is the only appointee with prior experience in the health bureaucracy, contrasting with Trump's other outsider picks for public health leadership roles.